Many different types or classes of musical instruments are known. One known type or class of musical instruments are string instruments. String instruments typically include one or more strings which, when contacted or touched, vibrate to create sounds or musical notes. Different types of known musical strings perform different functions. Various known stringed musical instruments employ a single or individual wired string (or a plurality of single or individual wired strings of different diameters) to produce higher pitched sounds. Another known stringed musical instrument employs a wound string (i.e., a central wire core with one or more separate wires wound around the central wire core) to produce lower pitched sounds. Wound strings rely on the additional string mass per unit length provided by the spiral wrap of the wound string to supply lower pitched notes at an acceptable string tension.
Certain known stringed musical instruments require human digital contact, human hand(s) contact, and/or contact with a musical instrument accessory (e.g., a pick or a bow) along one or more designated portions of the strings. These strings and specifically these wound strings tend to become contaminated with dirt, skin oils, bodily salts, bodily acids and perspiration after even a few hours of contact or playing. Such dirt and other contaminants infiltrate windings of the string causing the windings to gradually have less, restricted or limited motion which can change the sound quality (i.e., the pitch and/or the tone) of such musical strings. After a relatively short period of time, such strings often become musically “dead,” apparently due to the build-up of such contamination outside of the strings and additionally inside the windings of the wound strings. Wound strings that lose their sound quality must be adjusted (to maintain their sound quality) which is burdensome and time consuming for musicians. Moreover, after a period of time, such strings that lose their sound quality must be removed from the instrument because they cannot be effectively cleaned. This process is burdensome, time consuming, and expensive for musicians who play frequently and are very concerned about sound quality.
Another known problem with conventional musical strings, and particularly conventional wound musical strings, is that the action of fingering quickly up and down the strings often generates unwanted or unintended noises. For instance, it is common to hear a “squeak” from a guitar string, a bass string, a cello string and other wound strings as the musician's fingers rapidly move up and down a fret board or finger board. To avoid such unwanted or unintended noises, certain musicians often make concerted efforts to completely separate their fingers from the strings when repositioning pressure on the strings along the fret board or finger board. This repositioning action slows the musical note changes and further increases both physical fatigue and mental fatigue. Moreover, to avoid such unwanted or unintended noises, certain musicians use “flatwound” strings (i.e., square or rectangular wire wound over the core wire) or “groundwound” strings (i.e., round wire that have been partially ground smooth after winding over the core wire). However, such strings have an increased costs and do not entirely eliminate such unwanted or unintended noises.
Another known problem encountered with strings requiring fingering along a fret board or finger board (e.g., a guitar fret board) is that a substantial amount of pressure must often be applied by the musician against the fret board or finger board to produce different musical notes. This can be discouraging for beginning music students. Accomplished musicians often develop extensive calluses on their fingers from years of playing their instruments. Despite such calluses, the pressure and friction generated by playing the instruments tends to be one of the primary causes of frustration, fatigue and sometimes injury for many musicians.
Moreover, in the case of metal musical strings, the metal-to-metal contact between the frets or protrusions from the neck of the stringed instrument and the metal musical strings often causes wear to both the string and the underlying protrusion or fret. This wear can change the sound quality of such musical strings and expedite the need to replace such strings and/or the fret boards or adjust the string position after any fret board replacement.
Another problem with stringed musical instruments is that beginning music students are unaware of the exact location or range of locations at which to place their fingers on each of the separate strings to produce a certain musical note. Additionally, many beginning music students are unaware of which exact string(s) to apply pressure to produce a certain musical note. Musical instrument strings of uniform color and/or non-distinctive color do not provide any indication of the exact string to choose nor do such strings provide any indication of which finger locations on the string correspond to which music notes the musician wants to play.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved musical strings for stringed musical instruments.